P.S. on Ticketmaster–A case study, starring Bruce Springsteen
A friend just got tickets for the Bruce Springsteen tour. Here’s his accounting missive, sent via IM:
full price adult 95.00 X2….facility charge 5.20 X2……convenience charge 12.65 X 2…..delivery 2.50…….order processing fee 5.35……total charges 233.55
He paid a $43.55 markup on $190 worth of tickets, for a surcharge of 22 percent.
In what universe does it cost nearly $50 to let someone print out their own tickets? Of these myriad charges, exactly one—the “delivery” fee, the Orwellian term for “print them yourself, sucker!”—is remotely legitimate.
In checking out the Ticketmaster page for the show, you can see that Springsteen, whose shows used to be some of the most fan-conscious anywhere, is now allowing general admission on the floor. GA shows, besides being dangerous, are a drag for anyone who isn’t a beefy, beered-up guy.*
The average ticket price for the show seems to be about $90; capacity with the open floor I assume will be about 23,000.
So let’s assess who gets what:
- Springsteen can gross $2 million on the show before merchandising.
- Ticketmaster takes in roughly $400,000 on ticket fees, and kicks back some of this to the act and the arena.
- The fans? They get hosed all sorts of ways, from the Ticketmaster screwing to the bad seating conditions.
p.s.: This is off point, but Springsteen shows aren’t what they used to be. Hard to imagine the people, like my hapless friend, who are coughing up that much for tickets are waiting anxiously to hear “So Young and in Love,” or “Lonesome Day,” or “Gypsy Biker.”
Or, for that matter, “Magic” or “Loose Ends,” “Livin’ in the Future” or “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day,” “Devil’s Arcade” or “Last To Die,” “Long Walk Home” or “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” or “American Land.”
I like to think I know Springsteen’s music well; I can see that quite a few of these are from his last album, Magic, but I’d have a hard time humming more than a couple of the melodies of those songs, all of which are taken from the setlist of a recent show I chose at random.
* This is a good example of a phenomenon I mentioned in the previous post: That promoters will be doing whatever they can to eke out extra bucks. When your average ticket price is approaching $100, the figures get big fast. I’m guessing at the numbers, but if you can stick 5000 fans standing on an arena floor where you could seat only 2500, that’s a swing of $250,000. And a quarter of a million dollars, rolled up night after night of a long tour, soon amounts to a lot of money.
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Previously in Hitsville:
Why the potential Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger is a very bad idea
Is Ticketmaster trying to muddle the fees issue?
The Azoff-Ticketmaster deal: Bad news for concert-goers—and the music industry
Why you so seldom read about obscene Ticketmaster-style ticketing charges
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The newest trend annoying me is the charge for a “Delivery fee” where the only delivery option is ‘Will Call’.
How on earth this can be justified is beyond me.
Not just Ticketmaster (although they are the 800lb gorilla). In this case Front Gate Solutions ticketing for Antone’s nightclub in Austin, TX
Specifics:
Asleep at the Wheel
tix: 2 x $18
delivery fee: 2 x $3
total: $42
17% ‘delivery charge’ to wait in a will call line the night of the show.
- Just charge $21 for the tix and don’t insult my intelligence (taxes are included in the $18…)
Thanks for the great blog!
–The delivery fee things MAKES ME CRAZY and has kept me from many a show.
–Did you know at a recent Cheetah Girls show at the Oakland Arena (it’s called something else now) they charged 25$ parking - up from the usual $15 because people with little kids don’t desire to walk from BART?
–speaking of the Oakland (now called something else) Arena, remember when we waited there in the wee hours of the morning to buy tickets to his RIVER tour? I think we did it to save ourselves like a $1 fee at BASS, yes?
–Did you hear that Bruce just signed an exclusive contract with Walmart for a new greatest hits - and then took it back (that is, verbally) because he didn’t realize it would upset people?
The acts themselves are also contributing to the high fees. Most big shows instruct Ticketmaster to bump the extra fees in order to get a rebate on each ticket sold through Ticketmaster (usually $1 per ticket). The acts also usually force the customer to pay the bank charges associated with processing their credit card transaction. That adds even more to the “fees”. I’m not defending Ticketmaster but there are more parties involved and they all want a piece of your wallet.
I couldn’t agree more. I was thinking about the same thing the other day as I was buying a $25 ticket (will call) that cost me $33. I can not think of a solution though, other than obnoxiously marching in Times Square (hm), the concept has settled in!
I’m a big Bruce fan, and I have to say the GA thing has been great. When the band got back together in 99-00, the floor was reserved and seats and there was less energy as a result. Since 02, Bruce shows with the band have been GA, and he does it very well. There’s a pit that usually has plenty of room (you need to line up early for that) and I’ve found the rest of the GA to be be relatively comfortable. Sure, there are problems with beefy drinkers, but I’ve had that problem in reserved seats on the sides.
I get that you’re not much of a fan of Bruce’s later material. I differ with you on that - I thought Magic was wonderful, with the exception of “Radio Nowhere” and “Last To Die.” And given the audience reaction that I saw, the new songs went over VERY well, and weren’t just tolerated in between oldies.
The huge majority of Springsteen fans who purchase a ticket are aware that they’re not getting a “Greatest Hits” show.
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@ Ben: I take your point, and as Springsteen’s fan base has gotten older the mood of the crowd has relaxed as well. (I”m not being ageist; I’m getting old as well!)
Still–we all know that GA crowds are dangerous. And I insist on taking up the cause of the short fan and, inevitably, the female fan, who too often get shunted aside in those settings. (I’m tall, incidentally, and get good seats in any case. I’m not complaining for myself.)
And yes, you’re right, I have had to *sit* next to the beefy drunks, too. That doesn’t mean they should be allowed to stand up and crowd everyone else out of the front of the stage.
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